Happy New Year

http://www.buncee.com/buncee/45122

2013 Reading Review

Joining Goodreads in Jan 2012 was one of the best things I have ever done to improve my reading standards. As you may know, this website was founded in 2006 and "allows individuals to freely search Goodreads' extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists" (Wikipedia) 
It's now the world's largest-site for readers and book recommendations and by allowing readers to set goals, I (certainly like so many others) do my best to achieve them!
For 2012 I had set my goal in reading 24 books and tough as it was juggling reading, schoolwork, housework, kids... I promised myself I would do it. And I did!!!
For the current year, I was more modest and my Reading Challenge was 20 books. Besides the easiness with which all readers can keep track of their readings (or lack of them!), the visual reminders (or rather, the gadgets with the shelf and counting the books on the right bar of this blog) also work for me either telling me I am one / two books ahead or behind and I become aware that I have to allocate more time to my reading (even if that means sleeping fewer hours ;) )
In the beginning of December, as soon as I completed my reading goal, the nice folks at Goodreads sent me this:

How pleased I was!!! This is another reason why I'm definitely joining their 2014 Reading Challenge Goal!!! Another one, yes, because, I've already used this website countless times (also for quizzes, quotes, reviews, recommendations by other readers) and do not wish to stop.

What about you? Why don't you try it for 2014? 

Happy Reading(s) and a Happy New Year, y'all!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

My (digital) Season's Greetings (using Google Maps Street View).

From Condeixa, a very Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!
Please click on the link below:

http://www.itsamessage.com/holiday2011/#bDE9TWVycnklMjBDaHJpc3RtYXMmbDI9ZXZlcnlvbmUhISEmcz1UZWFjaGVyJTIwQWxleCZhPUNvbmRlaXhhLWEtTm92YSUyQyUyMFBvcnR1Z2FsJmF1dG89MA==

Christmas Countdown 3, 2, 1

Almost Christmas Eve!!!
Today I'm sending different ecards to my visitors, acquaintances and friends but there are so many and different that's not easy to choose.
1. Here you have four different backgrounds which you can choose with the arrows (below, right hand side where it says "Wonderland").

It includes music and after writing your message, you can send your ecard. Just select: Facebook, Twitter, Email or if you wish to get a URL to embed it.

2. You can also send a Christmas ecard here. Start by choosing one of the twelve images for your ecard, a new window will pop up with your chosen ecard and then just follow the steps mentioned.

One can enter up to five e-mail addresses separated by commas and choose the font. If unsure how it looks like, preview. And... done!

3. I've used this source before but as far as I remember not for Christmas though there are dozens of ecards you can choose from, including youtube videos. Here is my choice and below you have its printscreen:

Then click on "Send this ecard to Multiple Recipients" and besides writing you message, you also write the receiver's name and email address; if you wish to send it to several people, just click "Add Receiver"; if you want your ecard delivered any other date, click on the calendar. That's it!!!

As I was writing this blogpost, I obviously tried all the tools and sent ecards to myself. 123Greetings took a lot of time and worse than that, there's a lot of advertising...anyway, it's great if you'd rather send a video.

Merry Christmas, y'all!!

Christmas Countdown 3, 2

With so much to do, for the first time I haven't even sent a traditional Christmas card - handwritten ones sent by post as I have been doing ever since I can write! I'm therefore going to send different versions to my visitors, acquaintances and friends (:
What would you say about a talking photo to send my season's greetings?


http://www.fotobabble.com/ is a possibility; another one is an avatar - check it out below. At http://www.voki.com/, a free service, we / sts can
- create their customised avatars by choosing characters, backgrounds, accessories...
- add their own voice or use the text-to-voice option (the one I chose)
- post vokis to blogs, websites, profiles - they're embeddable!

A short video is also great! Have a look at this 30sec. free video I created in less than one minute!

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, y'all!

Christmas Countdown 3

OMG, I've left everything to the last minute! Reading, baking, shopping, blogging...everything!
That's exactly why I like the internet so much - we can do stuff so much faster than before, don't you agree?
I'm planning to send Santa Claus some letters to try my luck with presents but first I'll try to strike up a conversation with him.

At http://www.santabot.com/ we / learners can chat with Santa forever! Not a single question goes unanswered, it's free online chat with Santa Claus.
Have a go or invite your kids / learners / students to practise their English during the Christmas break!

Now, letters!
Though this is the busiest time at the North Pole, be sure that Santa will answer evey single letter he gets.
I've followed all the steps and given the right email address and in the twinkling of an eye, my letter was answered (: For that I've used http://santa-at-home.com/writesanta.shtml and after reading the instructions you see below, you just have to scroll down and you'll find the electronic sheet of paper and the envelope for your letter.

and http://www.merry-christmas.com/santa/send-letter-to-santa

This last one is a very comprehensive website so be sure you / students don't miss the music, traditions or recipes. Yummy!!! 

Keep students entertained while practising and learning English!

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Mourning Nelson Mandela

The prisoner-turned South African President, Nelson Mandela, passed away yesterday at the age of 95 leaving behind a legacy of courage and inspiration for generations to come.
The news is everywhere. No need to say much more, I guess, but below I've embedded a multiple choice doc to check one's knowledge on Mandela - and why not ask students to fill it in as a warm up for a lesson on Nelson Mandela, an icon of Freedom and also a Noble Peace Prize winner?

World AIDS Day: 25 years on

Source: LIFE magazine - The photo that changed the face of
 AIDS (pic by Therese Frare)

It was back in 1988 that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared to promote AIDS awareness on Dec 1 each year. Today, 25 years on, what are the results?The war on th epidemic is clearly being won, but what about battling the stigma?
We can prevent being infected, record numbers of people are being treated worldwide, yet "homophobic laws" in over 70 countries, discrimination against sex workers, people who inject drugs among other most-at-risk populations, demonstrate that there's still a long way to go.
Moreover, austerity-stricken Europe, namely Portugal due to successive budget cuts in health services, I fear, can be at risk of HIV outbreaks...
New infections are still high among adolescents though - whether in Africa (where there are still to many teenage girls with a "sugar daddy"), or in Europe, which have led to further action by Advocacy Group ONE and The Global Fund.
Below is a short video by The Global Fund to "Be the Generation to Defeat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria" - the moment is NOW, right now!

Interactive Theatre

Last Wednesday 20th over 200 students went to the theatre. Once again InterActing Theatre Company came to Soure and this time performed "WHO SHOT SHAKESPEARE?", a fantastic play with obvious references to Shakespeare's plays and sonnets. Students had a lot of fun and, in the end, even asked to take pics with the actors.
Below is the slideshow created only with pictures taken by my own students. I simply added them as they were being sent to me and the result is a fantastic mix of wonderful pics by amateur photographers though there is a preference for selfies :)
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

It's today!

Interactive Theatre

"Who shot Shakespeare?" by InterActing Theatre Company next Wednesday, 20th November

SOURE

Celebrating 5 years

Right! Celebrating 5 years of blogging!!!

5 years, almost 400 blogposts and around 100,000 visits. When I  first started I could have never imagined I would still be doing it after one year, much less five.
Well, here I am though... not posting as often as I would like to but trying to keep it going. Let's wait and see how long I can keep this strength to juggle so much stuff in my life :)
Anyway, thank YOU for all your support, comments and visits.
Alex

A Spooktacular Halloween!

Halloween (short) movies

One of my favourite sources - because of its reliablility and accuracy - has always been www.history.com and here you will find plenty of videos on this festivity. The one below is one of those videos, namely describing the real story behind the tricks and treat of Halloween.

 The next video has the same goal and is even shorter (about one minute length)   A cute song for children, but also full of clear vocab and pics connected to Halloween:

 

Two fantastic videos are "The Night Before Halloween" by Tim Burton though one of them is re-cut with Marilyn Manson's version of "This is Halloween".


The longest one here is definitely this but worth watching also because it's based on the book I've recommended before "Room on the Broom".

Hope you enjoy my choice of halloween videos! 

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween Games

Halloween is also a time to play and learn. Check these out:

http://www.abcya.com/word_search_halloween.htm - great word search that one can either play online or print
http://www.smartygames.com/igre/math/halloweenMath.html - choose a maths operation and use the arrow keys to move a ghost. Nice game!
http://blackdog.net/holiday/halloween/hangman/index.html - Halloween hangman in which one has to guess the word by pressing the alphabet keys on the keyboard
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/games/spelloween/spelloween.html - a spelling test!
http://www.xtec.cat/~ihidalgo/hallow/acthal/hallo8.htm - for vocabulary practice
http://www.xtec.cat/~ihidalgo/hallow/acthal/hallo.htm - a crossword
http://www.edhelper.com/Halloween28.htm - learners choose the correct definition

among so many others!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Recommended Readings

Some books worth reading by Halloween...

Beautiful full colour books for kids:

When a witch loses her hat and wand while riding her broomstick, three helpful animals find the missing items. All they want in return is a ride on the broom. Is there Room on the Broom? 

The Best Halloween Hunt Ever - A bestselling search-and-find book filled with fun Halloween-themed puzzles.

Little monsters and goofy goblins prepare for Halloween in a silly, spooky spin on Clement C. Moore's "Night Before Christmas." A bewitching adventure for children. Colour illustrations throughout in The Night Before Halloween.

It was Halloween, the spookiest day of the year, and my nephew Benjamin had dragged me to a graveyard to do research for my book. There I met Creepella von Cacklefur, a very spooky mouse who - tried to lock me up in her coffin! Oh, how would a fraidy mouse like me ever survive? Another 1st person narrative in It's Halloween, you Fraidy Mouse!

For older readers:

Halloween Trivia - Halloween is one of the most celebrated times of the year among North Americans. Find out in this fun-filled, fascinating collection of little-known facts about all of the odd customs of Halloween and where they originated.

Who doesn't know Agatha Christie, the Queen of Suspense?

A teenage murder witness is drowned in a tub of apples...At a Hallowe'en party, Joyce - a hostile thirteen-year-old - boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no-one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the 'evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer...

Mel C. Thompson's collection of Halloween poems and paranormal stories in this Diary of a A Suburban Zombie. His unique perspective on zombies, mummies, vampire bats and world-conquering pumpkins. He takes us on a tour of hostile UFOs, the sex lives of immortals and the jobs of former monsters-turned-workers...

The Complete Poetry of Edar Allan Poe is also a compelling read! From Annabel Lee to The Raven, this edition of Poe's complete poetry illustrates the transcendent world of unity and ultimate beauty he created in his verse.

This is Halloween, READ!

http://bookriot.com/2013/10/24/book-o-lanterns/

Hallowe'en Suggestions

With Hallowe'en just a few days away, I prepared these exercises for all to practice vocabulary associated with this festivity - not with the most common words though...

But if you are more into cooking and baking, have a look at this fantastic video on Hallowe'en party snacks by the British Council: Also by the BC, enjoy some exercises here.
For a gallery of Hallowe'en pictures around the world, please click here.

Happy Hallowe'en, y'all!

Creative Reading: BritLit 10 years on

Creative Reading, APPI and BC, 19.10.2013 from Alexandra Duarte

Quality Label

My School - Sec / 3 Martinho Árias – Soure - was awarded the Quality Label in an eTwinning Project.

For those who don’t know, “the eTwinning action is an initiative of the European Commission that aims to encourage European schools to collaborateg using Information and Communication Technologies;(ICT) by providing the necessary infrastructure (online tools, services, support). Therefore, teachers registered in the eTwinning action are enabled to form partnerships and develop collaborative, pedagogical school projects in any subject area with the sole requirements to employ ICT to develop their project and collaborate with teachers from other European countries (at least two teachers from two different European countries are needed). The primary workspace for the eTwinning action, is the eTwinning Portal (www.etwinning.net) and it is available in twenty-three languages. Teachers registered in the eTwinning action, also called; eTwinners find each other, communicate, share resources and collaborate through the eTwinning platform. This growing and active community enforced the change in the motto of eTwinning from "School partnerships in Europe" to "The community for schools in Europe"

 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETwinning)

Our project "Feel The Forest and Keep Your School Green" involved students, teachers and schools in Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, Turkey and Bulgaria and took place in the school year 2012/2013.
Many thanks to all teachers, students and adults learners who, one way or the other, have made their contributions to this successful project. Thanks also to the eTwinning NSS for the recognition.

Why I teach - And you?

To celebrate World Teachers' Day 2013, I'm sharing a poem and an absolutely amazing video. Don't miss it!!!

Teacher

Loud shouter
Deep thinker
Rain hater
Coffee drinker

Spell checker
Sum ticker
Line giver
Nit picker

Ready listener
Trouble carer
Hometime lover
knowledge sharer

Paul Cookson in The Works (10th Anniversary Edition)

Happy World Teachers' Day!

European Day of Languages (EDL) 2013

Here, here, here and here I've already left tons of info, links, resources and materials from previous years.

This year, my school - together with professors from the University of Aveiro - is involved in many and interesting activities. So, for now, just a few more awesome links:

http://ec.europa.eu/languages/orphans/european-day-of-languages_en.htm 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/edl/ - though it hasn't been updated for some time, this site is worth our time especially the links on the right hand side.

As for the activities in my school... well I'll tell you more in a few hours...or days!

Happy EDL2013!

Election time

It's election time everywhere!
Today, Germany goes to the polls; in a week's time it will be ourselves, the Portuguese. As important - I would dare say ;) - were my class elections!  My students were also involved in a tough class election this past week with campaign and all! By now all is over and settled, and below are the results.
Our proud class officers are:

Hope they do a better job than our Portuguese leaders :)))

Starting the year off right

Soure news!

Today, I've not only welcomed my young stars, but also taught English to my adult groups. It was indeed a full day to kick off!!!
There is no turning back now and a new (and tough) school year is definitely upon us. Hope everyone has started it on the right foot ;)
I'm looking forward to meeting my 10th graders, YES!!!

A happy and successful school year!

Welcome!

Wow!!! I'm welcoming a class of 7th graders this Monday - 12 year-old students and their guardians, and hope everything will be ok. Why am I saying that? I admit I'm inexperienced in these tasks and would rather teach English than be in charge of a class- so much paperwork, so much time with meetings, filling in forms... I'm pretty sure there won't be any problems once I have already had the privilege of teaching some of these kids as a substitute teacher and they were great as learners and as young citizens!

In 2013 / 2014 the 7A kids will be my stars, whose hardwork and results will make us all proud. I'm 100% positive!

Welcome to Martinho Árias School in Soure, 7A!

The Morning Rush

Into the bathroom,

Turn on the tap.
Wash away the sleepiness -
Splish! Splosh! Splash!

Into the bedroom,
Pull on your vest.
Quickly! Quickly!
Get yourself dressed.

Down to the kitchen.
No time to lose.
Gobble up your breakfast.
Put on your shoes.

Back to the bathroom.
Squeeze out the paste.
Brush, brush, brush your teeth.
No time to waste.

Look in the mirror.
Comb your hair.
Hurry, scurry, hurry, scurry
Down the stairs.

Pick your school bag
Up off the floor.
Grab your coat
And out through the door.

John Foster in The Works
(10th Anniversary Edition)

Happy International Literacy Day

and

Happy School Year, y'all!!!

Wake me up when September ends - will you?

I don't really know why... this will be my 20th-something come back to school, but the fact is that every September, every year I get goose bumps!

If, on the one hand, instability and work overload are upon us teachers, on the other hand, returning to school after some months engaged in far more challenging activities, requires a lot of effort and creativity to keep students focused. Rather than get used to routine, this tends to get worse making every come back to school a bit more thorny.

Anyway, all these years I have never faltered in my purpose to teach English. I am there for my students and because of them; they are not to blame for institutional and governmental changes. Bearing this in mind, my work has always been driven by and focused on student learning and development - both academic and social. Therefore, I have already set my goals for 2013/2014 which, to be honest, have not changed that much over the years. Here they are:

1. Love what I do - I chose this profession and when I enjoy what I am doing (within classroom walls or outdoors), I feel I'm giving my best and that joy is quickly grasped by students. I believe that when they feel they have committed and caring teachers, they'll achieve more;

2. Read academic as well as recreational books - this way I can not only dive into my own professional development, but also do what I most like doing (besides teaching :) of course): Reading!

3. Connect and Collaborate with colleagues, students, staff, parents... on a professional and personal level. Throughout my 20-something professional career, I've shared and learned so much that this is - as far as I am concerned - the only way we can survive, without going nuts - especially now, surrounded by so much hostility by our Ministry of Education, budget cuts, increasing number of students per class and demands in our performance...

Till now I've been fortunate enough not to worry about where I'll be teaching the coming year or even if I'll have a position at all! For completely different reasons though, I just can't help feeling anxious about coming back to school and wish I could skip these first weeks. In the back of my mind are the lyrics of a well known song and, just like the singer, I was wondering if you could just Wake Me Up When September Ends , when the school year is already well under way? Please???

Thank you for sharing your views and please take a couple of secs to answer only 4 questions in the poll on the right sidebar- no big deal, really, and all will be anonymous.

Happy school year, y'all!

"I Have a Dream"

50 years ago, Martin Luther King delivered the iconic speech "I Have a Dream" that we all know. I had planned to present a timeline, but History Channel has a fantastic short video that I've embedded below to share with you.
This speech with all the biblical associations, references to Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and to the Emancipation Proclamation and the use of rhetoric can be used in class to approach multiculturalism, race relations, racism...

Happy Dreams, y'all!

Guest Post

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]

The news just broadcast more cuts in salaries and the buzz word is crisis. Besides all this, the loads of paper work and the hours spent at school seem to burn all the necessary strength to face our misbehaved students and manage to involve them in learning. 
This past academic year I felt my job seemed to be dreadful routine. I needed to get some new motivation and that’s why I applied for “ Language and Methodology Refresher (Secondary /Adult)”. I asked APPI to advise me about the best colleges and courses, they suggested BELL in Cambridge. In April my application was approved and on 14th July I left my home at 3 am. Leaving my kids, being the only Portuguese teacher in the campus was a great challenge for me. I must confess I felt a bit anxious although I love travelling and making new friends. 
At 4 pm I was at Homerton College, in my bedroom. As my students would say: “Oh my God”! everything was new, the place, the people... at 7 o’clock the welcome event - the first person I met was a Brazilian teacher and we immediately started to speak English. It seems so strange, our mother tongue is Portuguese and we were speaking English, but why were we there? To improve our English, so? Let’s speak English! Since that moment, that was the only language I used. During this event we met many teachers form different countries not only in Europe but in Asia and South America. 
This was just the beginning of two great weeks of work as well as exchange of ideas, culture and knowledge. 
On Monday morning the first breakfast was in the “Harry Potter” hall. It seemed that I was a character of the film, I was a student in an English college. My dream as a kid (studying in England) had come true. 
At 9 am we met our tutor and the 12 teachers of the Methodology and – refresher- During the mornings, we were with the tutor learning new words, doing activities concerning the four skills and the different intelligences, developing new ideas for our future lessons. In the afternoon, we attended a variety of workshops either on cultural issues or practical ideas for classes. There were also plenary sessions and cultural events. In all these moments we could meet other teachers of other courses and share some more ideas.
In the evenings, after all the cultural events I had time to read my new books and the tutors’ suggestions. 
In the weekend we could visit London and Oxford, visit museums, colleges and do some shopping, of course. 
However, the days flew and on Saturday, 27th July, I had to come back. OMG... I felt I didn’t want to come back to reality. These two weeks were incredibly inspiring and motivating. I still feel a desire to read more, search more about new ideas for my lessons. 
This course was really important to change my way of seeing my job and to change the way I was working. I felt like a machine doing things automatically just because they had to be done, without much motivation. Now I feel the strength to face a new school year with a different attitude. My imagination has woken up. 
All I must say is: My dear friends, don’t deny yourselves the chance to do such a course, your students deserve it. Do it for yourselves and for your students. A course of this kind can be the turning point in your job now! So do it!

Isabel Breda

Agrupamento Escolas da Guia

Guest Post

Valued Reader/Visitor,
It's time for some changes. I've been running this blog for some years now and it's high time I opened it up to other educators - EFL teachers just like me - to exchange their ideas and share their experiences; it will also be a different chance to have their voices heard.
I truly thank my colleagues / longtime friends who are doing so - it's as rewarding for them as it is for me and for all readers/visitors!

[Glitterfy.com - *Glitter Words*]

Lifelong Learning Experiences

The European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme – Comenius Sub – programme enables teachers and trainers to participate in enriching and motivating training sessions across Europe.

The Course “Digital Storytelling in Classroom” was organised by the University of Piraeus Research Centre and it was held in Crete, Greece from July, the 15^th till the 19^th.

This course included 30 hours of teaching and workshops, as well as collaborative, project work that required about 5 hours of individual work and it was attended by teachers of Portugal, England, Ireland and Poland.

Together they had the opportunity to explore several WEB 2.0 tools in order to facilitate Storytelling in classroom:

• Photo Story 3  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11132

• Comic Strip Creator  http://www.comicstripcreator.org/

• Comic Life  http://comiclife.com/

• Pixton  www.pixton.com

• Toon Doo   www.toondoo.com

• Garfield’s Comic Creator  www.garfield.com/fungames/comiccreator.html

• SP – Studio   http://www.sp-studio.de/

• Zoo Burst  www.zooburst.com

• Storybird  http://storybird.com/

• Microsoft tools for Digital Storytelling (Photosynth, Deep Zoom, Movie Maker, Songsmith, Photostory) - http://www.microsoft.com/education/en-us/teachers/Pages/free-products.aspx

• Glogster  www.glogster.com

• Go Animate  http://goanimate.com/

• Animoto  http://animoto.com/

The sessions were led by the trainers Dr Simeon Retalis Assistant Professor; Theofili Smprini M.Sc.; Foteini Siameti M.Sc. and Maria Kourakli M.Sc

It was a great opportunity for professional enrichment and for sharing  experiences among teachers of different countries.

Ana Cristina Simões, Agrupamento de Escolas de Figueiró dos  Vinhos

Cristina Silva, Agrupamento de Escolas da Lousã

My Cambridge Experience, August 2012

In August 2012, a group of Portuguese teachers of English spent two weeks in beautiful Cambridge / UK in a teacher training course. Besides the updates I published then - starting here -, below is my report of that wonderful experience just published by APPI in its newsletter:

New. Neat. Nice for holidays.

Figueira da Foz. Coastal city with several beaches and seaport facilities, about 40 km west of Coimbra, sheltered by Serra da Boa Viagem (hills).

Casa Havanesa, as I knew it

Casa Havanesa. Figueira da Foz, Picadeiro, very close to the Casino. 

Founded in 1885, Casa Havanesa was a bookshop, a newsagent, and also a photography shop until 2006. In spite of all odds, it is now a bar, and its new owners have kept its identity as a century-old bookshop.

Inside this bar/restaurant that (re)opened last April, there are still the original glazed cabinets as well as one of the counters, among other details.

Down the hall that leads to the basement and toilets, there is also a small bookcase with some books awaiting customers - leave one and get another! Besides the typical (Portuguese) espresso drinking, customers can also taste delicious meals and snacks. Yummy!!!

Casa Havanesa is really a plus for Figueira da Foz, a place like so many others, where traditional shops are closing down and there are more and more derelict buildings. When on holidays, I used to buy there books and foreign magazines; more recently I bought there books for my kids. Though it is sad to see such an emblematic bookshop disappear, I believe that more important than that is refurbishing these areas, and therefore recognising the remarkable effort of the new owners - on the one hand, in investing there and preserving the building, and, on the other hand, in promoting book launches, presentations (please check, for example, here) and exchanges, hosting music (please check, for example, here) and other cultural events, including gastronomy (please check, for example, here).
If you happen to be nearby or plan to visit Figueira da Foz, be sure to hit Casa Havanesa, during the day or at night, to exchange books, eat, drink and/or to listen to good music. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Casa Havanesa, as it is now (indoors)

Wish them all the best for this whole new chapter - for Casa Havanesa (and all others) and Figueira da Foz, my second hometown ;)

Happy Holidays, y'all, wherever you are!!!